The Phoenix Never Dies
by kennethclayden
Summary: A mission involving nuclear waste, leads Jean and the X Men to war: not just against a powerful enemy, but against each other (Jean and X Men) and within the X Men themselves.
1. Chapter 1

Alarm bells rang as they ran through the corridors, desperately trying to escape. Behind them, metal creatures of enormous height followed them - with the result of exploding waste following them. _Directive: Kill Mutant Life, _was the only sound that could be heard from the metal creatures as the group ran faster and faster. Then a service door locked tightly shut - _a defence mechanism_, one of them thought. Others agreed while he attempted to slice his way through the door. By now, the corridors were becoming irradiated and the leader, a man named Cyclops or Scott; had an idea. Then he turned to the door, and with a tap of his visor; the door melted away. At this, a woman gasped. "What's wrong, Jean?" He asked. She pointed at the growing mass of exploding waste which as they watched, swallowed the sentinels whole.

"It'll get out," she pleaded. "We have to do something, Scott." He turned away like the others.

"There isn't time. We'll die if we don't get out. C'mon." But she didn't. Instead, she took initiative. As they left the threshold of the door behind, she closed her eyes and thought. She imagined a door in place, a physical one like the one before it. She placed her hands toward the gap, and it was so. She let go of it as she moved through it, but the door disappeared as quickly as it appeared. "C'mon Jean." He said. She shook her head.

"If _that_ gets out," she said. "It'll cause havoc in the world. It'll kill thousands. I'm sorry Scott." She said, before returning to the irradiated corridor. Scott tried to follow her, but by now, Storm, had grabbed him and held him in his grasp. Then, after begging Jean to reconsider; she grabbed him and led the team out of the building onto safer ground.

Back inside though, Jean's psionic door would not remain. It was too late to leave, and so she did what she could to protect good people. She closed her eyes, and laid flat on the ground; allowing the radiation to course through her veins. To burn her up. She could feel its path, as though it were a part of her physical form, and she followed it to its limits. She outstretched her hands, readying herself for it. She opened her eyes for one last second to think of Scott. Then she closed them again and waited.

Outside Storm's hold on Scott was beginning to weaken. "You mustn't- She said. But her words were halted abruptly, by his sudden pull and once free, he made his move toward the building. Then it exploded. In a moment, silence filled their ears with white noise and no voices and no words could be heard. Storm turned to her other comrades, Iceman and Shadowcat, who were both on their knees with their fingers in their ears. "Scott!" She tried to yell as the explosion continued, erupting out of the building - closer and closer to his mortal body. Then it stopped. It's momentum pulled away like a carpet in a cartoon. Then it filled an invisible bubble, erupting evermore but contained. After that, the energy shrivelled into itself; collapsing into nothingness, and leaving nothing but irradiated smoke behind. He couldn't speak.

As the smoke thinned and the air around them stopped choking them, Scott moved into the site of the explosion. There seemed to be nothing left; the walls were now grains of sand on top of dirt, and other than a few metal pillars which were ripe with heat; it seemed as though nothing remained. Except_ she _did. Her leg was held tightly under one pillar that had fallen. Scott tapped his visor again and it dissipated. _She's so beautiful_, he couldn't help thinking as he reached out for her. Behind him, more dust roused as the X Jet arrived before them, and Xavier stepped out. _"There is nothing to be done for her,"_ He said. Yet his voice was not a physical form, but a mental one - reaching into Scott's own mind to create the tone of his mentor. "_She died a hero, Scott. And for that, we will live another day."_ His words aimed to comfort, but instead they angered. He grabbed Jean's lifeless body and carried her toward the jet. He cared not for the amount of radiation potentially within his girlfriend. _There has to be something_, he begged in his thoughts. But Xavier told him to discourage this, that he would do what he could but no more. He set her down on the floor of the X Jet as it prepared to take-off. Xavier wheeled himself toward the girl, and gazed at her. "She was a brave young woman, a brave young woman indeed."

Once they had reached the mansion they took her to the hidden, more military-like area to help her further. He laid her on the table and stepped back as Xavier wheeled himself in a position where his own head could be knelt in close proximity to hers. Then he placed a hand either side of her temples and concentrated. For a while, nothing seemed to happen for Scott. He stood there, just watching. As time progressed, he found his legs wavering and so he leant against metal constraints for balance. But still he waited.

Meanwhile within her brain, Xavier hadn't even managed to enter it. Several psychic barriers lay in his path, red though they too had been irradiated by the blast. He held out a hand to them, and interacted with them; each in turn. But none of the barriers seemed to budge. "_Jean." _He called out to her. The barriers shuddered, seemingly allowing the trespass of sound in. But nothing stirred, and the barriers remained up. He closed his eyes, and allowed his consciousness to drift out of her, and back into him.

"Well," He said, adamantly waiting for an answer without giving him chance to adjust.

"I need more time, Scott. Jean is nor alive nor dead, at this point."

"What do you mean?" He asked. Xavier hesitated. "What do you mean?" He wheeled himself away from Jean, and closer to Scott.

"There is potential for life," he said. "But in her death, psychic barriers were created," Scott became confused, and asked for clarification. "I do not know what they mean, Scott. One interpretation is that she condensed the radiation into her subconscious where her powers made it nothing. All I know, is that I cannot access her mind as I once used to." Scott hung his head. "It will take time. _Go."_ With this, Scott did as he was told and returned upstairs while Storm entered the lab with Logan.

"Is there any hope?" Storm asked. He nodded, but as he got back to work on meeting her consciousness; she found her hope dwindle with every passing second, but she knew that Logan's, like his love for her, would not. They left him and he returned to his task.

Re-entering her mind, he saw fragments of her life; passing him by like a stream, surrounding him in a cylinder, like a tunnel. A tunnel of her life; and he watched with admiration, at her earliest memories: learning to walk, to talk and how happy she'd been. Then he saw the divide her mutation caused. The fights in the Grey household that she was too young to remember. Her loneliness that lessened over her time of joining the institute, but never really subsided. "_I'm so sorry, Jean." _He said. "_I should've known this. How could I have not seen?"_ Then a voice he knew answered him._  
_

"_You did what you could for me. You wouldn't change their hearts and minds, and you taught me why it was wrong to do so. I grew to forget my loneliness Charles. Because of you."_ He wondered if that was a good thing, or not. But with his hope restored he asked where she was. To which she replied: _"I don't know. I contained my consciousness in here, from the radiation. But I don't know how to get out. Can I even- _He stopped her.

"_Where there is a will, there is a way, my dear. There is hope now, and after 40 winks, or so. I will return, having the proper focus needed to free you. It has been a long day, my dear." _She said nothing. He left her alone again.

She visited him in his dreams, to keep him company. Charles functioned both awake and asleep, so he enjoyed her company. They discussed how he would free her; with the power of Cerebro to aid them. "_Scott worries,_" she said.

"_They all do. As did I. But one must never give up hope, if there is something worth fighting for."_ She nodded. Then she left him again, to his own thoughts which she'd overtaken. He welcomed the dark world that surrounded him as he consciousness slipped away.

In the morning, as promised, Xavier returned and with the help of Scott, took her to Cerebro. Outside the door, looking in before it closed; Storm and Logan watched on as Scott joined them. They watched for a moment, as he placed the helmet on his head. Then the doors closed. Silence. They waited. Scott grew impatient, but Storm calmed him down.

Inside, he used the huge power Cerebro held to aid him, _once_ he had entered her mind. Once there, Cerebro's power connected them both and the barriers broke down. Then they heard a violent cry, like a beast let loose. But it soon quietened, and the worry in their psyches' passed. They released themselves from Cerebro and Jean was back...

* * *

Later that day, they ate dinner together. So much had happened in a couple of days, but no one spoke. Instead, they enjoyed their company in independent thought. Xavier didn't need to read his mind to know his happiness had returned...


	2. Chapter 2

In the days that followed, mundaneness returned and the sacredness of Jean's life; in fact all life; was once again taken advantage of. The students roamed the halls with their same loud-mouthed expressions and abundance of life. He enjoyed their company; and they respected his, even if they didn't show it. As he wheeled himself down the corridor from his study, he found himself lost in thought when... "Can I have a word with you?" It was Scott, and startled, it took him a moment to formulate the simple _yes_ he always gave him. They turned back for his study, _Scott's urgency needed to be confidential. _So he obliged.

In the office, he positioned himself behind his desk again. As though the desk became a barrier, a guard, or a sense of authority. "What was the purpose of our last mission?" He said. Xavier reminded him of the exploding reactor. "I know all that, but why'd Jean have to get dragged into it." At this, he was startled; Scott had her back now, wasn't that all that mattered? Apparently not, as evidenced when Scott suddenly became enraged and slammed his hand across the desk; before recalling and wincing in pain.

"Scott, our risking of our lives, and, sad to say, the near-death of one of our own. Serves to play a role in bridging the mutant-human gap that Eric seems determined to undermine-

"It was Magneto?" Scott wondered. Xavier shook his head.

"It was a natural fault in the works, one the workers dropped something, or something-or-other. But all that matters, Scott, is that Jean is still with us." At this, he calmed down and apologised. "We must learn to control our feelings, Mr Summers. Or else, they better us and make us someone, we really don't want to be."

As Scott entered the living room, Storm was angrily yelling at the TV. "Another anti-mutant comment!" She yelled. "Yet they're happy to allow gay marriage." Scott seemed surprised. "I'm not saying I'm not happy about gay marriage. It's just, one minute-

"One minute what?"

"One minute they're persecuting them, like they persecuted blacks, like they persecute us. And now they're 'just okay with it'. And _you_ joke that I'm indecisive." Scott laughed, and his laugh was joined by Jean's.

"I love how overprotective you get over us, Storm. Really shows you care." She said with a wink. Storm instantly calmed at that. "I'm off into town, before almost dying I booked myself in for a hair appointment." She joked. "Wanna come?" Scott interjected a yes before Storm laughed.

"She meant me, dumbass." She said, jokingly. Then she followed her out to an awaiting car. Scott rubbed his head. _What was I thinking?_ He thought, before his thoughts were interrupted by Xavier.

"_Perhaps, you weren't thinking, Scott._" He twitched. "_I do apologise for intruding. I just need to be sure that you are in tip-top condition. There is a new threat we must discuss at some point. Jean will be fine. No bed-rest was needed. Or anything. She recovered well." _He asked him how she'd gotten away, without a physical scratch. "_A psychokinetic shield can be as strong, or as weak, as necessity requires, Scott. Jean assessed her surroundings, and applied her powers as needed. By the time the field broke, the radiation had already collapsed. Leaving her safe-Watch yourself- _Scott regained consciousness of his surroundings just in time, as a careless student who also wasn't looking where he went, came down the corridor the opposite way. "_If you are not ready, Scott. I could always ask Logan and Storm to lead, temporarily." _He shook his head. "_Very well. Once again, I apologise for the intrusion. Relax."_ With that, the voice ended and Scott's mind was once again clear. He headed into his room for some peace and quiet._  
_

They returned a little after 2 and Storm once again returned to the TV - though this time it was to supervise her students - Jean headed outside, and closed the door behind her. She sat on the grass and closed her eyes. The sun moved around her, slowly throwing shadows into her path and causing her to move. But it wasn't much trouble. Eventually she just fell asleep on the grass.

"...put that god damn remote down, or else!" Storm shrieked. The child mocked her before Logan moved in, and then the child dropped the remote and ran for it. "I swear to god, sometimes I could just- She mimed an action with her hands.

"I know what you mean." Logan laughed. "But they'll learn, when they're out on their ear." He joked. Storm laughed, though she knew she shouldn't. Then Xavier moved into the room.

"Does anybody know where Scott is?" Storm shook her head.

"Is it important? Can't you just search for his psyche?" She asked. He shook his head.

"No I am afraid that I already used that option this morning. Attempting to convince him, that continuing on as normal is important. He's so disconnected, Storm-

"I can smell him, he's in his room." Logan said. With that, Xavier nodded and took the lift to his room.

He knocked twice, before entering. Laid face-down on the bed, Scott acknowledged his presence. "I have a matter to discuss, and it is of the greatest importance that you do not seek additional counsel on it. Do I have your undivided attention?" He asked. The body turned over. "Good...

He led them into the flight area where the X Jet remained silently, waiting to be flown. "You must hurry."

"Why must I go alone?"

"It is important. Call it a _learning curve_, if you will." He nodded. Then he left.

Upstairs, Storm was waiting for him. "Where did you send him?"

"I sent him to the only person I know that can help him."

She was there waiting for him. Moira McTaggart. The Scottish wind was strong on their faces, and so Moira was keen not to stay outside for long. She took him inside her facility, showed him to his room and left him to become acquainted. Then they met for dinner, it was a nice meal with Banshee and herself. They'd just been married, but a mission meant that they'd missed it. Scott congratulated them again, and they thanked him. Then the conversation became serious. "How are you feeling?" She asked. He shrugged. "I can help you, y'know. But you have to _want_ to be helped." He nodded...

The following day, Storm had organised a field trip for her class; enlisting Jean as her assistant. They travelled to the Natural History Museum and then they let the students loose. They moved toward the artefacts. "...we have to be well-behaved here," she said. "Jean, why don't you lead one group that way? I'll lead the other this- She indicated with her hands. Jean nodded.

Jean took them along corridors with clear glass alongside them. In each area, a tiny scene of time depicted for all to see. Jean kept an eye on her students, but her mind was with Scott - worrying for him had become her secondary job. "Are you alright, Miss?" A kind woman alongside them asked. She shook herself and nodded, along with a _thank you_ for her worry. "They your children?" The woman asked. Jean explained, apologising again - the students had begun to make a mockery of the school, using their powers to cause unnatural hassle.

"You are all being very, very rude!" She yelled. "Not just that, but you're setting a bad standard for yourself, and our school." She said. "Be quiet, pay attention and be the good students, I know." At this, the students did as told; and the woman nodded a polite _thank you_, before leaving them again._  
_

On Muir Island, Scott was recovering well. He was no longer worried about his woes, and he appeared stronger and more emotionally stable than when he arrived. MacTaggart didn't want to risk his progress yet, so she slowed the process of rehabilitation down as much as possible, to allow him an easier transition. Xavier acknowledged this and accepted. He laid in bed until the early hours of the morning, before joining her and Banshee on a morning run to clear the mind. The island was a wondrous place in the morning; and in the evening, they took a stroll along the evening; before an early night. It was a simplistic therapy, but it worked.

Soon he was back with the X Men, and in due time too. For Magneto had made another claim to supremacy over human kind. In the centre of the city, his Brotherhood had begun causing havoc - taking normal humans from the streets, and employing them as slaves. Xavier rallied the team, and soon they were in pursuit. But by their arrival, the only signs of life were those humans who had managed to cower in lower levels of buildings. "He got what he wanted." Scott said, tapping his communicator.

"I will go to Cerebro, find him there and send coordinates to you." Xavier replied back.

"Very well." He looked around to find Jean was already among the masses, using her medical knowledge to bandage whatever injury could be bandaged.

"Magneto wouldn't take the injured," she said. "Even if they begged it of him." He nodded. Above them, Storm searched as Xavier did; but to no avail. She allowed herself to return to the team and they waited. At last, Xavier's voice surfaced from their communicators.

"I have not found Magneto," he said. "Because it wasn't Magneto to find. He's here, in the mansion. He's asked for our help."

"Our help?" Jean retorted. "Whatever for?" Then Magneto's bold voice kicked in and spoke, and said only one word:

"Apocalypse...


	3. Chapter 3

Back at the mansion, and Magneto was indeed there. Xavier stood alongside him, as they once had, as the team arrived. They headed into the Subterranean mission room to discuss what had passed there that day. "Who is Apocalypse?" Scott asked. Magneto turned to him, and explained of an Ancient Egyptian boy named En Sabah Nur; a boy, who could've been the first mutant to have ever existed. Magneto also told of his intelligence, citing it in reference to a huge array of devices at his disposal. "So he's got a bunch of machines?"

"In a way, they can be characterised as _machines_," he said. "But the technology used to power them is more sentient, due to Apocalypse's technopathic powers." He stopped to pace a while. "It should also, be taken into consideration. That Apocalypse is able to generate and manipulate an unknown, and very powerful, energy type."

"How do you know all this?" Jean asked, standing in the doorway with cups of tea on a tray.

"My island, Genosha," he said. "Apocalypse ravaged it, in search of something. Though I do not know, nor want to think what for." She handed them some tea and joined the conversation.

"Cerebro activate." He said. The metal contraption above him squeaked and squeaked as the metal helmet joined them. "_Search for Apocalypse," _his psychic voice ordered. The machine obliged, tracing him; albeit briefly; to Liberty Island. He alerted the others, though Magneto was unsure.

"I will advise that our teams take precautions, due to the lack of a concrete trace." Xavier nodded. Then those X Men present and Magneto, boarded the X Jet.

Beside the island, the X Jet landed abruptly and they explored. Within moments of landing, however, Jean felt ill about the place and psychokinetically shielded herself. Magneto did the same. Around them, a fog brewed and departed as Storm joined them. "I apologise for my lateness, team. I had my own business to attend." Then they headed into the island. To the base of the Statue of Liberty. Jean felt a presence, unlike any she'd felt before.

"I think he's here. Either that, or another mutant of great power is. Which I find unlikely." They split off toward the base and entered the museum.

A whole in the floor, meant that their search was narrowed and they entered.

At the end of the tunnel, three more subdivisions led off to who-knows-where. Scott quietly opened the door on the left, while Storm and Magneto took the middle door and Jean took the door on the right. As they opened, the sound of pounding machinery could be heard prominently from all of them. They split off again, tackling their respective doors.

Magneto and Storm walked side by side. Reaching out into the darkness, he felt the presence on non-magnetic metal. Storm, meanwhile focused on the energy levels of the tunnel; which as they moved further through, became more electromagnetic in nature. Then they reached the tunnel's end and opened the door onward.

Inside, a machine occupied the majority of the space; and sat pumping energy along its metal tubing through the walls to the other rooms, either side. "Should we shut it down?" Storm asked. Magneto advised against it. "Professor," she said, tapping her communicator. "We've found a device, though neither myself nor Magneto know what to do with it."

"Send me a- Hang on, Jean and Scott are also reporting in. Yes, Scott? Jean?" They began to speak, but in their haste, overlapped one another.

"I've found a chamber," Scott said, at last. "It's fed by a tube coming through the wall."

"It's coming from our room," Storm identified. "Any idea what it is for?"

"Not a clue, what about your end, Jean?" Magneto asked.

"There's nothing in here," she said. Though there's enough psychic energy in here, for me to access the thoughts and feelings of the inhabitants of this room." She closed her eyes and concentrated on the energy. The others waited. Then she screamed. "Oh, it's horrible," she said. "Absolutely inhumane."

"What is it?" The others said in unison.

"Apocalypse uses this room as a teleportation area," she told them. "Then he brings them into _that _room," indicating Scott's discovery, to access their genetic structure."

"But why is that?" Magneto asked. Jean couldn't access anything more. "He is already more powerful than most," he said. "What could he be looking for?"

"Perhaps," Storm suggested. "And this is just a theory. But, perhaps Apocalypse is searching for his equal?" Magneto shook his head.

"Equal? No. Apocalypse looks for servants. That's probably why he went after humans in the city."

"Perhaps," Jean said. "But I can't help feeling there's more- She stopped.

"Jean?" Scott asked, suddenly worried.

"I wondered when you would arrive." He said, his voice echoing through the communicators as though he was in all three places at once. They could hear the grinding of his metal body parts. His stature was audible.

"Apocalypse!" They said together. He grabbed Jean's arm, violently; and moved her into the other rooms. Storm and Magneto attempted to attack as they followed, but his body shifted and two new arms appeared and grabbed them, also.

In the same room again, the communicators deactivated, minus Scott's, whose communicator remained connected to the mansion. Xavier remained silent and listened in. "Suppose you want to know my plans," he said. "Well, while I won't reveal that. I can tell you, that one of you is needed. And one of you, will betray all to meet that need." He gazed at them all, though his eyes had a clear focus on one of them. Though they didn't admit it. Then the communicator went dead...

They woke up on the streets of New York, their communicators flashing; and suddenly, an overwhelming psychic presence in their minds. "We're okay," they said. "He let us go," they said. Xavier was wary of this.

"He could've crushed you, if he wanted. So it must be important that you were allowed to leave," he told them. "I fear his threat, indeed. But I know that none one of you would go against the plan." Scott glanced at Magneto, who shot him an offended look, and Xavier felt it.

"Eric isn't likely to betray a cause, Scott. Especially a cause he was leading," he said. "He asked _us_ for help remember. Were there any bodies in the rooms?" They answered. "Whatever experimentation Apocalypse is doing, must be obliterating his test subjects. Perhaps, rather than slavery, Magneto. He is testing on those humans first." Here, Magneto's supremacy tone returned.

"But what would be the benefit of testing humans?" He asked. "Why not skip the monkeys, and get the genuine article." He said.

"Eric," he said. "Not that that tone, doesn't affect me normally. Perhaps, Apocalypse feels they are _necessary_." He said. "But whatever he is planning. We must stop. Return to the mansion, immediately." He said.

That night was a restless night for everyone. Though for one of them, it was because they knew Apocalypse was at least half-right. They tossed and turned in their bed, their eyes wavering from open in darkness; to closed in torment. They only wanted to sleep, but they feared they'd never sleep again...

A week returned, and with little progress; life returned, sort of, back to normal. In the kitchen, Jean stood over the cooker; bacon frying in the pan. "Who wants a chuckie egg?" She asked as grabbed a couple from the carton. A number of students raised their hands, and she took another two out; resting them on the side of the cooker as she cooked. Then once they were done, she handed them their plates and they ate.

After that, they gathered in the living room to watch Storm once again yell at the TV, as it was announced that the Liberty Island museum had been broken into - by rogue terrorist mutants. At this, she became livid; and her students and Scott laughed along. Xavier joined them a moment later, Logan and Magneto either side. "Once you have calmed down, Storm. We have a little news. Eric?"

"Thank you, Charles. But shouldn't we talk this, away from other people's ears?" He indicated the students.

"Very well. Logan, you stay here and keep an eye out on the students."

"Babysitting?" He moaned.

"Babysitting." Scott joked, patting him on the back as he went.

"I'll help keep an eye out too." Jean said. At this, startled faces appeared; but they left them too it, regardless.

After the discussion, Xavier allowed Scott and Storm to return to the others. But he kept Magneto behind. "Eric, I'm worried about Jean," he said. "It is extraordinarily out of character, for _her_ to not attend a meeting like this." Magneto rubbed his chin with his fingers.

"Perhaps, she is not as well as you would have hoped. Besides, we never found who or what caused the reactor to go off in the first place, did we?" Xavier shook his head.

"All we know is that Jean saved lives." He stopped. "I must advise, we keep our concerns to ourselves, for the time being." Magneto nodded, before returning to his make-shift quarters alone.

Xavier returned to the living room. The news reported the New York incident - with good news. The population's bodies had been returned; and the majority were alive. Xavier gave a sigh of relief. But then, he worried. "Like you, he's let them go. What is he- Just then, two loud students moved into the living room; their hands coming to blows. "Stop this." He said, calmly. Then Jean rose her hands and threw them into the air. At this, the two stopped fighting. "Jean, are you okay?" He said. He referred to her hands, which shook violently. She let go.

"I'm fine," she said. Then she turned away, the boys either side of her. Xavier attempted to reach into her mind. But he couldn't. He began to sweat, though Jean never reacted.

"Professor?" Storm said.

"Ororo, something is wrong with Jean. She blocked me from her mind, yet it felt as though it was someone else."

"What should I do?"

"Keep an eye on her. Be her confidant, if need be." She nodded, then left them.

She woke up the following morning and moved to the mirror opposite her. Turning the tap, she allowed the rush of water to wake her skin. She gazed at her reflection in the mirror. There was something in her eyes. She looked further, then jumped back. Her iris was burning, she screamed. Storm opened the door to check in on her. "Are you okay?" She nodded. "If you need me. I'm in the other room." She looked back at her reflection, her eyes looked normal again. A beautiful green glared back at her.

In a secret place, Apocalypse met with his horsemen. They stood around a machine much-like other machines of his. "...and you're sure this will work?" He asked. The man nodded, while he tweaked the machine a little. "She's more powerful than anything I've ever experienced." A light flickered just behind him. "Abyss, did you free the prisoners?" He nodded. "Good. That'll make my job a lot easier now that I know _who_ I'm looking for." Abyss nodded. He moved over to his machine and pressed a button on the console. On the screen, a DNA fragment and a name appeared. He seemed delighted with his find...


	4. Chapter 4

Over the following days, tension in the team grew worse. Scott was determined, at all costs, to deny Jean's slow breakdown. But he couldn't help finding himself at odds with his love for her, and what he saw before him. At Xavier's request, he brought her to the medical bay. He asked her to lay on the medical table once more, and she obliged. He placed his hands around her mind again, close enough to feel her psyche; but far enough away to not be touching her. He closed his eyes.

"_Jean, can you hear me?" _An energy hit him. He fell back. "_Jean you have to let me in_." He felt sweat on his brow. "_What is going on here?" _Before his eyes, Jean appeared. Then disappeared. Her psyche was depleting, she was literally losing her mind. Using his power, he held Jean's psyche as much as possible, binding her back to her body. "_What's going on?"_ he asked, repeating himself.

"_I don't feel right. I haven't felt right, in a long long time," _she said. "_It's ever since Apocalypse_-

"_You let him scare you with the thought of a traitor being in our midst?_" She shook her head. "_Well, what then?" _He asked. "_Anything you say here, will not be repeated. I promise you that."_

_"The traitor, he looked right at me," _she said. "_I would never betray you, Charles. But- _He waved his hands.

"_I know that, Jean. Is that what all the worry is about?" _She shrugged. "_We'll all be fine, Jean."_

He pulled away from her mind, and she sat up. She smiled at Xavier, and then at Scott. "I'm fine, honest." She said. Then he turned to him.

"She should be fine. But you need to watch out. Something, I don't know what, tried to force me out. It wasn't her. But, whatever it was, it could be growing." He wheeled himself out of the room, leaving Scott alone.

In a pyramid, Apocalypse waited as his men brought him the machine from beneath the Liberty Island Museum. "Attach it to the other one." He said. The other machine deactivated as they unplugged this and that, before it lit up again along with the new machine. "Soon, I'll have use for it," he said. "For now, it can be turned off." He had such a wicked grin. "It's only a matter of time." He said with a baritone cackle.

At the mansion, another day dawned. Storm was out in the gardens with her students; practising this and that. "Will you put that down?" She begged of one students; who had decided that an empty plant pot made an exemplary object to throw at the others. The others laughed at him, and he released it; returning it back to its proper position. She quietened the others and returned to her teaching. Moments later, Logan entered with a cheeky smirk. "And what can I do for you, Logan?" She asked.

"Xavier wants to see you 'bout something. E's, in his study. I think."

"Very well. Would you mind?" She asked, indicating the students.

"Not at all. I'm getting used to these twerps." He joked. She smiled and left him to it.

He was indeed sat over his desk, his mind concentrating on something with great intent. "Ehem." She said. He looked up. "Sorry," she said. "Logan said you wanted to see me?" He nodded, and then indicated for her to close the door. She sat opposite him, his eyes looking into hers. "Is this about Jean?" She asked. He nodded.

"She seems to be under the impression that the traitor lies within her-

"_She's_ the betrayer?" He shook his head.

"Not _her_, something _inside of her. _Although I have a hard time getting access to her mind, except when she's sleeping. Then something kicks me out." She scratched her chin, puzzled.

"So what can I do, Professor?" She asked. He pushed back, opened a drawer and leant in.

"Here," he said. It was a file, high quality brown cardboard covering classified details. "I want to know how to proceed in the fight, or lack thereof at the minute, with Jean. Do I send her into the fold with us, or do I betray her trust and not allow her a part." She thought for a moment.

"While I respect and love Jean, like a sister, as I have always said. She cannot be trusted with secure information about ourselves. However, I would not count her out of the fight."

"Secure information?" He asked.

"Y'know, like our plans, our strategies. Keep her on a need-to-know basis." He nodded.

"I knew I could trust your judgement, Ororo." She smiled at him.

"Is that all?" She asked. He smiled and nodded, motioning with her hand that she could leave.

She rejoined her students, who were being taught by Logan how to fight in a gardened area without damaging plants. "Enough." She decreed. She waved her hands ceremoniously, all words and actions stopped at once. "Form a line. All of you. As for you, Logan, this class is about teaching those with emotion-based powers to allow their emotions to become unlinked." He started smirking again. "I will deal with you later." She threatened. He nodded, and walked away, whistling.

Logan headed back inside. He felt like a spare part around there; his time was employed running errands for the Professor, or taking over classes while others did other things. It was like he'd settled in. As he became lost in thought, he realised he was not alone. "_Logan I'm sorry to pry into your mind, I know the Professor would disapprove. But I could sense you were troubled. Meet me at the front outside. I'm just getting some air. I think we should talk." _Though he wouldn't admit it, he was deeply in love with Jean - even more-so than Scott, and though he'd never said it, he'd thought it - he knew Jean knew, and she knew that he knew she knew. But they never mentioned it to save their friendship, among other things.

He met her outside. She was sat on the ground in a meditating position. Her eyes were closed, and even though he wasn't psychic; he could feel her psychic energy pulsating from her mind. "Sit." She said. "I've only practised a little bit. But, I think I can find out where your feelings are coming from." She said. Her eyes still closed, she reached for his head. He snatched at her arms. She winced. "I can help you, Logan. I know that I can. Let me." She said, and she attempted once more to reach for his head. This time, she was successful and she allowed their minds to connect.

They entered his mind together. His psyche had made itself a warrior of his own thoughts and feelings. She could see a huge hole in the side of the psyche's form. "_That must be why he can't remember,_" she said. She moved closer to him. He drew his claws. "_Keep calm," _she told him. "_I can fix the part of you that is lost._" Her psyche touched his, and she could feel everything that he was feeling. But he could feel everything she was feeling too. That her desire to help him remember, stemmed in her love for him - a love forbidden by society, and by her physical form. But here, her thoughts were open to him. His psyche reached for her and kissed her. She'd never felt a psychic kiss before. It sent her powers racing and the whole in his psyche healed. He remembered. Then the connection broke, violently...

Having been so lost in their psychic passions, the kiss had detoured into the physical. But not before Scott saw them and pulled Logan away from her. He drew his claws. "Scott-

"Stay out of this!" He yelled at her. "You have no right- He couldn't even finish his sentence. He stood there, shaking. Then he took of his glasses and let his frustrations out on Logan. He stood up to it. He didn't plead for it to stop, though of course he didn't need to. But something about this excessive force he was releasing onto him, was changing him. Scott felt the body before him, diminish in strength. His bones began to thin, the adamantium coating began to heat and melt away and he could feel himself age.

"Scott!" A new voice yelled. It was Xavier. He rose his hands to his head and suppressed the power. A barely living Logan, fell to the ground. Jean moved toward him. Scott replaced his glasses and ran inside. "What is your prognosis, Jean?" He asked. She explained what had ensued, but he didn't care. He only cared what was happening now.

"His bones, they've lost their adamantium coating, Professor. Scott packed a punch, his healing factor also appears to be slowing. I'd need to examine him to be sure though."

"Fair enough. I will attend to Scott, while you do that. And Jean?"

"Yes."

"You will have to choose, y'know?" She nodded and carried him inside. He headed to the elevator, and once more, to Scott's room...

"I just can't believe-

"I know, Scott. But you have to understand, that Jean would not so simply give into such primal desires. As I understand it, they were engaged in a psychopathic exchange aimed to fix Logan's psyche and restore memories. A method I thought impossible, until today."

"Xavier, I love her so much."

"Yes, and she loves you too. But-

"But she loves him too?" Xavier nodded.

"It isn't impossible to love more than one person, Scott, and given Jean's highly empathic mutation; I am surprised her love only stretches to two people."

"You mean there could be more?" Scott asked, suddenly overcome with jealousy.

"No, that's not what I said. Will you listen to me?" He said, reaching out and forcing his mind to calm.

"Professor, you promised you wouldn't reach into my mind again like that."

"I know. I'm sorry. It's for your own good." The door closed with a creak and Scott fell to sleep.

Down in the medical area, it was as she had feared. Throughout his body, Logan's adamantium content had liquefied and re-hardened. But his healing factor had slowed, dangerously so. "Perhaps it hasn't slowed." Xavier suggested. "Perhaps, Logan's body was overpowered; his healing factor could not have expected such a force and so could not continue efficiently, especially when his form is as disorientated as it is." Jean nodded.

"I'm putting him on some drugs to help him heal a little faster. Get his immune system fighting, maybe that could do something. How's he doing?" She asked.

"I had to put him into a deep sleep," he said. "His thoughts were too uncontrolled, too irrational. I feared he would act on them; on you or Logan. Perhaps both. He's a very jealous man, and while I don't condone your actions; I don't condone his either."

"I'm sorry, Professor. It wasn't my fault, our desires were unlocked when we were together in his mind. Our psychic presences, they could reach each other. It started as a psychic kiss-

"A psychic kiss?!" He exclaimed. "You mustn't say that, Jean. A psychic kiss is something only the kindred of spirits can achieve. Sure, a one-sided kiss can be sent telepathically. But a psychic kiss; a kiss of both partners, regardless of psychic ability, is to create a connection that is almost unbreakable. To be a psychic and have such a connection in one's possession, can lead to total control over the other. This can only be balanced if the other is also psychic." Jean felt awful. Though she'd seen moments where she'd already had this control over him. In battles, he'd taken bullet after bullet for without even asking for a thank you. Xavier heard her thoughts and tapped her on the shoulder. "You have to let him go, Jean." She nodded. "If it is true what you say, he's lying there because of your unintentional control over him." He wheeled himself away without saying anything more...


	5. Chapter 5

For days, no one spoke on the issue. Scott made sure, at all costs, to avoid Logan and Jean while Jean attempted the opposite. With the passive threat of Apocalypse, and his threat of betrayal still looming, Xavier had to keep Logan out of the loop; due to what had occurred, and what he discovered - and with Scott heartbroken and miserable, it became Storm's responsibility to help Magneto and himself. Though none of them had spoken to him in days. On that day, he took Storm with him to Magneto's quarters to talk.

"I hope you're coming to talk to me about how we can eradicate that blasted Egyptian," he began, as they entered. "Because, if you're here to take me up-top to play 'tag' with your students, I will probably go out of my mind." Xavier laughed.

"We're talking business, Eric," he said, before adding, with a wink: "This time." Magneto laughed too, then motioned them in. "I hope you don't mind, but recent developments have meant that our team is greatly deple-

"Ah yes, the Jean-Wolverine incident. Young love, eh Charles." He laughed. "I heard Jean attempting to carry his shrivelled form by herself. So I helped her. Replaced the adamantium onto his bones so he wouldn't die of metal poisoning." They nodded. "So information will just circulate through the three of us, correct?" Xavier nodded. "Then, I hope you don't mind. But I advise we return to Genosha, to collect my Brotherhood. After all, an army of three will do no good, will it?"

"I suppose we better head to the X Jet then," he said. Magneto nodded, and Storm was about to push him when he said that he would. Surprised, Storm walked alongside Xavier as they reached the jet. Before boarding and helping carry him up.

Genosha was much warmer than anticipated, but Storm soon adjusted. She flew ahead, to tell of their arrival. But she was not met with kindness, and if not for Magneto's magnetic shield, would've been unconscious and almost dead. "Myself, Xavier and Storm," he said. "Require your assistance, in the bringing down of Apocalypse." He walked amongst them, proudly. "Our two teams have different ideologies on the world, but myself and Xavier both agree that the fate of Apocalypse must be, that he must die." Xavier nodded.

"My team," Xavier chipped in. "Due to social reasons, have been depleted and the strength of my team is not guaranteed in any circumstances. I will go against Apocalypse, but in my state," he said, indicating his wheelchair. "I doubt I can do much in way of combat." The others nodded. Some spoke about his disability, in contrast to his vast telepathic powers. But as he remarked later, his power would only be useful, if he had access to Apocalypse's mind...

They returned, and like Magneto, set up quarters in the subterranean areas of the mansion. With this new team, they plotted and planned their attacks; sent mutants on reconnaissance missions, and planned some more. Over this time, Logan had healed more rapidly; his body appeared younger than previous and he appeared faster and lighter. He was back on his feet, though his friendship with Scott was tarnished. But that didn't stop him going to see him one evening. He knocked and entered, dodging a blast from Scott's visor as he did. He apologised, acknowledging his feelings but misunderstanding how they came to the surface. He promised him he meant no harm, that all Jean had intended was to heal him which he did; and he wanted to make-it-up with the both of them. Eventually, Scott came round; but that night he asked him to leave as he needed more time...

The team suited up, and readied themselves for Egypt. Storm guided the team onto the jet. Then they were off. By this time, Jean, Logan and Scott had worked past their differences, and so came along as originally planned. They landed a short distance from the pyramids, and stepped out. The winds were strong, Storm was asked to calm them with her powers as thick grains of sand were thrown at them, from all sides. Then they moved toward the pyramid, and upon finding the entrance; they entered.

It was dark inside the pyramid, and natural light hadn't entered in many a millennia - light was provided in the form of torches, though which allowed them to navigate. At the end of the first path, it was divided into three subdivisions - as though Apocalypse had an addiction to triads - and they 'buddied up' and in teams, they moved into each area. Magneto and Xavier, along with Pyro and Wolverine took the first; while Jean and Storm, along with Mystique and Scott; and Scott, along with Rogue and Nightcrawler, took the other two subdivisions.

Magneto walked alongside Xavier, keeping a vigilant eye on his surroundings. Until that moment, they had been undisturbed in their trek to Apocalypse. But that disruption soon began once they reached a second door. Expectant of their arrival, Abyss and a mutant named Sugarman were stood. They began to fight, Magneto soon found his magnetic capabilities challenged by Abyss while Pyro and Wolverine took it in turns to attack Sugarman. Once they fell, Xavier turned to them. "I will keep my mind vigilant of extraneous minds."

Storm had opted to float down the corridor while Jean walked slower with Mystique alongside her and Scott slightly ahead - trying to keep close to Storm - and then they reached a room that all the other rooms, also led to. The rest joined them and they continued on.

The sound of machinery was the first thing they heard. It's loud, pumping and ambient sounds were joined with luminous blue wiring that moved in and out of the machine. "I knew you'd come," he said, stepping out of the darkness. "But I expected a little time, Jean." At this, they turned. Xavier defended her.

"It may be the physical appearance of Jean who betrays us, Apocalypse. But I know that it is not Jean's mind who will betray us."

"Indeed, Xavier. I have had this machine hooked up for weeks. I put it on Liberty Island to attract your attention so I could take your telepathic profile, Jean." To this, Xavier wheeled himself in front of her.

"And what do you intend to do with her?" He said.

"Get rid of her," he said.

"No!" Two voices said in unison. Wolverine and Scott both agreed and formed more protection around her from him.

"She needs to be a submissive telepathic profile, to allow _her_ to be dominant." He explained. "You don't think I didn't plan for Jean to survive the reactor?"

"It was you!" Xavier yelled. Apocalypse nodded.

"It was the only way I could stimulate _her_." He continued. "She'd laid dormant for her entire life. Well now it's her time in the spotlight." He said. Then he flipped a switch and the doors closed, and the machine activated. Then Jean found herself faint and falling to the floor.

"I am ph- A voice began

"No. Xavier," Jean pleaded. "Something's taking control of me." He accessed his powers and at last, he realised what was wrong.

"A second personality," he explained. "Two streams of consciousness within the same person." And then to Apocalypse, he said. "It will tear them apart. I implore you to see reason." He begged.

"It will only rip _one of them _apart," he corrected. "The other will serve me. And in time, she will surrender her powers to me, so that I can become the most powerful mutant in existence." He started to cackle, before Jean's screams stopped him.

"Professor, help." She begged.

"Fight it, Jean. I will help you fight this thing. But I cannot do it alone." Jean nodded and they worked in tandem. Eventually, Apocalypse's machine quietened, and Jean stood up. Apocalypse said nothing of the triumph; and with good reason. In a moment, she found herself abundant with energy. Her body and eyes became surrounded by a thick fire. Storm attempted to douse her, but the fire simply devoured it like a meal.

"I. Am. Phoenix." The personality announced. Apocalypse applauded her arrival, as though he'd waited for it all his long life .

"You have come to serve me. Send them away," he told her. "Prove your loyalty to me, for freeing you." She did as commanded, raising her hands; they were gone. "You will prove useful in my conquest. Most useful indeed." Then they returned to the shadows.


	6. Chapter 6

Scott fell to the floor, broken heartedly. Both Xavier _and _Logan moved to comfort him - and to their surprise - he accepted both. "We do not have time for this," he said. Xavier looked up at him, glaring. "Oh, don't look at me like that, Charles. Do you think _he's _resting? No. He will be working on the next phase of his plans, and with Jean- He stopped himself. "Phoenix, working with him. Who knows what this power will bring him." They tried to move on. But as they moved through the door, a portal triggered them back to the X Jet - _a security protocol_, Xavier thought.

"I guess we're going home," Xavier announced. Scott glared. "We need a new plan, Scott. Jean's new form- he rubbed his head. "It could be deadly for all that comes in her path. You didn't feel the frustration, and the rage, and the power. I felt I was against an unstoppable power." Magneto nodded. Then they returned home.

Over the next few days, governments went at war with Apocalypse. But one by one, they fell - their armies depleted - and soon the governments feared for their own safety. TV cameras caught brief glimpses of Jean's form, but it was Phoenix who was in control there. Her power was unstoppable - not a bullet or tank or anything could touch her without disintegrating. But she looked fatigued, and so did he. Eventually, once the attacks stopped - they disappeared. It was a most peculiar plan, if ever Charles or Eric had heard of one. He had them right where he wanted - world domination was in the bag. _Maybe that was not what he wanted_, Xavier began to wonder in his sleep. _He mentioned that she would surrender her powers. He's waiting until that moment._

He laid in bed. Ever since his psyche had been healed, he'd slept well. The tormented fragmented memories were now whole again and he remembered his name - and a life longer than most. Then he thought of her, his body tightened at the thought of her. He felt all the emotions he'd felt when he kissed her. "Jean!" He cried out, his voice weak and dry. Then he tossed and turned violently.

He woke in a garden. It was foggy, and at first; he thought, perhaps Storm was playing a trick on him, but as the fog cleared and she walked toward him; it was very definitely not Storm. "I miss you, Logan," she said, playfully. "Come with me. I can give you more than your memories." She told him. "I can give you a life worth living." She reached for his hands, and caressed them in hers. "I love you so much, Logan. You don't know how much I love you." He couldn't help himself. He locked lips with her and it was done.

He began to violently convulse. On his face, veins popped out like breakouts - and soon this was the case for his whole form. In the early hours, Scott found him and brought the professor and Magneto to help him. Xavier scoured his mind for any clues, but the only thing he found was her energy signature - and that was what he already knew. He placed his hand across his mind, directly applying his power to him. His body calmed, but did not wake. "I have sedated him. The Phoenix has tampered with his Psyche," he told them. "And left him comatose." He moved out of the room. "Now it's personal." He said...

They prepared themselves for the final battle and jetted off. As they arrived, they found the pyramid - headed by Phoenix, herself - while at the bottom, Abyss and Sugar Man awaited them and fought with them. Then they tried to enter the pyramid, but she stopped them. In a second, the pyramid was cloaked in energy that stung to the touch - but bigger attacks created bigger consequences. Then she faced them herself. They were no match for her. But as she was about to give the killer blow, Apocalypse made his presence known, and captured her by the hand. The pyramid lit up with bleeping lights. Phoenix found herself, weakening and weakening. The fire in her eyes drained like the rest of her. "Apocalypse, I can help you." The creature pleaded, but he listened not. Then she fell to the ground, unconscious.

"I am the most powerful mutant." He declared. "And now, to test my powers." He faced Magneto and his Brotherhood and released his power onto them. At first, his shield kept them safe, but then it burst like a bubble and they were flung back. Then he sent a roaring fire to Storm, who reacted naturally. Yet the rain wouldn't saturate it - she tried a blizzard; but that failed and so she fled back. Xavier used his powers to leverage himself with him. A psychokinetic shield formed between them. But he overcame it, as he feared he would. Then, like Phoenix before him - he was about to deliver the final blow when.

"Stop," she said. Her voice was loud in the quiet desert, and Apocalypse turned. "You have abused my powers, used them for your own selfish gain." Xavier applauded. It was Jean. She raised her hands and they began a contest. Energy spilled from all angles as the battle continued. But she was too strong. His armour burnt away and his device no longer connected her powers to him. Then she hit out at him and knocked him unconscious as he had done. But then she allowed Phoenix, the final blow. She simply waved her hand across him and his matter exploded into dust, and then into nothing. Xavier congratulated her, but she silenced him. "I must go now," she told him. "I am too powerful and unstable to be around the people I love." Before she could say anything. Her form set alight, and she was gone.

"Though we know not where she has gone," Xavier said, on the journey back to New York. "Have hope, Scott. That she will return in her own time. We owe her that."


End file.
